Can Being a Re-reader Lead to Mental Health Instability?

Re-readers

Okay if you’re thinking to yourself that there is no manual for mental health then you’re both right and wrong. There is actually a REAL manual for diagnosis mental disorders called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV or DSM4). This book basically has every mental disorder for both children and adults and lists the “known” causes and how to diagnose. It offers professional tools to give a prognosis as well as offering “some research concerning the optimal treatment approaches.”

If you’re a “re-reader” then having this book will do more harm then good. You’ll begin to question your health over and over again. At first, it will look like you’re doing something good, researching your mental illness. But just like putting together the Ikea BESTÅ TV storage combo entertainment center with sliding doors, you start out fine, but when you get stuck you “RE-READ” every set over and over again trying to figure out what went wrong. You’ll start over and over, never really making any progress. It’s a vicious cycle and instead of using your mental powers, you become a slave to indecision and self-doubt. Before long, you’ll quit the project. When the “project” is your mental health recovery, that could lead to relapse or worse suicide, all because you need to “RE-READ” what you did not understand.

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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Oct 2012 Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

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APA Reference
Stewart, C. (2012). Can Being a Re-reader Lead to Mental Health Instability?. Psych Central.
Retrieved on August 2, 2015, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor/2012/10/can-bringing-a-re-readers-lead-to-mental-health-instability/